Counseling the Hard Cases: True Stories Illustrating the Sufficiency of God’s Resources in Scripture

by Heath Lambert; Stuart Scott

Publisher:

B&H

, 2012

Overview

Biblical counselors have worked for decades to demonstrate that God’s resources in Scripture are sufficient to help people with their counseling-related problems. In Counseling the Hard Cases, editors Stuart Scott and Heath Lambert use the true stories of real patients to show how the truths of God’s Word can be released to bring help, hope, and healing into the lives of those who struggle with some of the most difficult psychiatric diagnoses.

From pastors and academics to physicians and psychiatrists, a world-class team of contributing counselors share accounts of Scripture having helped overcome bipolar, dissociative identity, and obsessive compulsive disorders, postpartum depression, panic attacks, addiction, issues from childhood sexual abuse, homosexuality, and more.

The book also shows how the graces of Christ, as revealed in the Bible, brought powerful spiritual change to the lives of such people who seemed previously burdened beyond hope by mental and emotional roadblocks.

Contributors include John Babler, Ph.D., Kevin Carson, D.Min., Laura Hendrickson, M.D., Garrett Higbee, Psy.D., Robert Jones, D.Min., Martha Peace, RN, Steve Viars, D.Min., and Dan Wickert, M.D.

Key Features

• Presents true accounts of real people who have received serious diagnoses such as anorexia, bipolar, postpartum depression, and dissociative identity disorder>
• Seeks to show how God uses his Word to guide his people to become instruments of grace in bringing restoration, hope, peace, and healing
• Explores the stories of various counselors as they transform into story-tellers to describe the ways through which they assisted their counselees and oriented them toward Jesus as they sought transformation and restoration

Contents

Top Highlights

“While we cannot use the dark realities of our pasts to excuse behavior that displeases God in the present, counselors should always recognize the potential presence of past suffering and should acknowledge the scars left by the jagged edges of life.” (Page 63)

“The hope in Romans 5 is that our sufferings will lead to God’s being glorified” (Page 105)

“Basically, three groups have emerged: One group is secular psychology, which believes that the Bible is completely irrelevant to counseling. Another group is biblical counseling, which believes that the Bible is sufficient for counseling. A third group takes their cures from the first and believes that the Bible is relevant to counseling but insufficient for it.” (Page 5)

“Our goal in counseling is threefold: (1) to get the counselee to see God’s character and compassion through the lens of Scripture; (2) to get the counselee to see himself and his problems as God does; (3) to get the counselee to feel God’s conviction and comfort as he peers intensely into the mirror of his Word.” (Page 183)

“Biblical counseling must always be done in an atmosphere of relational compassion.” (Page 67)

Praise for Counseling the Hard Cases

Counseling the Hard Cases changes the conversation about counseling. Friends of biblical counseling will find themselves stretched to grow at every point. Critics of biblical counseling will see long-standing caricatures dissolve. True wisdom comes exquisitely balanced. This book breathes forth the fragrance of such wisdom. I hope all readers share something of my bottom-line responde: Father of all mercies, make my life and my counseling embody more love and more truth, more of all good gifts and worthy skills.

David Powlison, faculty member and counselor, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF); editor, The Journal of Biblical Counseling

Counseling the Hard Cases is an excellent example of how to do biblical counseling that is both true to God's Word and practically relevant to the complex issues behind the fallen human heart. I commend all these competent counselors for giving us tremendous insight into helping people gain much hope and help for their spiritual lives. I especially appreciated the contributor's singular commitment to the sufficiency and superiority of Scripture in counseling. May this book be greatly used by counselors, for their counselees, and in the teaching of counseling.

Lance Quinn, pastor Grace Advance, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California

While many books have argued for the sufficiency of Scripture, few have demonstrated sufficiency by showing what it looks like in real-life problems. That's why Counseling the Hard Cases will be a valuable resource for both counselors and pastors - it will show that God's Word is fully adequate to address life's hardest problems.

Deepak Reju, pastor of biblical counseling and families, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC

Product Details

• Title: Counseling the Hard Cases: True Stories Illustrating Sufficiency of God’s Resources in Scripture
• Authors: Heath Lambert, Stuart Scott
• Publisher: B&H
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Counseling; Spiritual healing
• ISBNs: 9781430076322, 9781433677465, 9781433672224, 9781433685798, 1433677466, 1433672227, 1433685795, 1430076321
• Resource ID: LLS:9781433677465
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-16T19:01:37Z